After months of waiting and planning, my first run back is officially in the books. Well, officially in *my* books. :)

Today's planned workout (thank you Josh) was an easy 35 minute run- slow and steady- no getting out of breath allowed. Perfect. Overcast day with a mild breeze. Perfect. Legs feeling good. Perfect.

The picture above is the park near my office where I run during lunch (short runs). Usually I run on the bike path, but today's order called for a trail or soft surface. Easy enough in such a large park. I started off in the grass, but with the significant amount of rain in the past few days, it was a mucky mess. Enough so that it tried to suck the shoes off of my feet... comical except that I was NOT in the mood for shenanigans. I looked over at the lake, and the beach was a packed surface- perfect again!

I started off a little too fast, I think... both calves were tighter than I expected. I had planned to run the whole 35 minutes, but really eased in by running a minute and walking a minute for the full 35 minutes. A little disappointing, but I was really listening to my legs to see how they were responding (very well, in case you were wondering).

I got back to my office and did a 15 minute ice bath after stretching. I'm now 3 hours out from finishing the 'run'. No, I take that back, it was a run. An easy run, but a perfect way to come back from a (too long) hiatus. My legs are a little tight (I'm going to massage them down with sports cream and put my CEP socks back on), but I feel great. Nothing like a runner's high combined with the exhiliration of a successful re-entry to my beloved sport to push me through a Monday afternoon.

Next stop, 40 minute run on Wednesday. I can say, in all honesty, that I can NOT wait. :D